Chapter 426: Chapter 426

Elias Sinclair stopped in his tracks and lowered his head, seeing Quinn Lockwood’s tear-streaked face.

"Why?" Quinn mumbled, her lips trembling as tears streamed down her cheeks, disappearing into the collar of her clothes.

The man stood by Quinn’s side, from his angle he could see the glistening tears on her curled eyelashes, like morning dew on slightly blooming petals, possessing an indescribable beauty.

Elias felt like he was going insane, as what occupied his mind now was this image—utterly beyond comprehension.

"Why are you still so nice to me, when you clearly... clearly aren’t this kind of person."

He wasn’t a person who would be so gentle to her.

Quinn didn’t finish her sentence.

She knew that in Elias’s heart, she was never anything, even if he was good to her, it was only to fill the void left by Melody Shepherd’s departure.

Or maybe because he had no choice but to marry her, and had to keep up appearances for his grandfather. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel·fire·net

Quinn lifted her head, her gaze piercingly focused on Elias, as if trying to capture every emotion in his eyes.

"Because you are my wife, so I should naturally be good to you." Elias ruffled Quinn’s hair with his big hand, the corners of his mouth gently lifting into a slight, faintly joyful curve.

In his eyes, a momentary surge of passionate affection flashed, but Quinn did not see it.

This was a sentence that Elias had mustered a lot of courage to decide to say.

He wanted to tell Quinn that she was his wife, the person he loved, the one he would cherish and protect for a lifetime.

Of course, Elias couldn’t say such mushy words naturally; the phrases he had rehearsed several times in his mind came out as concise and bland remarks.

As soon as Elias referred to her as his wife, Quinn’s eyes dropped in instant disappointment.

As expected, she thought, Elias’s kindness towards her was all because of the piece of paper that bound them.

Was he reminding her? Reminding her not to think too much, reminding her that all she had was merely the shell of Mrs. Sinclair?

"So that’s how it is, I understand." Quinn smiled bitterly, then as though drained, leaned back against the pillow, her eyes growing dim.

"Have some more porridge, rest a bit after you finish, and then you should take your medicine." Elias sat beside Quinn once again, picking up the bowl of porridge.

Quinn let Elias feed her as if she were a mechanical, emotionless robot.

After she took her medicine and rested for a while, the nurse came in to give Quinn an infusion, followed by Melody Shepherd carrying fruit and fresh flowers.

"Miss Lowell, I apologize, I had some matters to attend to this morning and couldn’t come to see you right away." Melody placed the fruit on the table and arranged a bunch of fragrant lilies in a vase.

She looked at Quinn apologetically, though her demeanor remained gracious and poised, without a hint of inferiority.

When Elias saw Melody come in, his brow subtly lifted, but he said nothing.

"It’s nothing." Quinn actually wasn’t close with Melody and didn’t expect her to come visit.

Although Melody appeared harmless with her gentle and cultured demeanor, through her intuition, Quinn could sense a not-so-simple purpose and deep scheming hidden beneath her pristine exterior.

"You scared me that day when you fainted unexpectedly; what did the doctor say? Shouldn’t be anything serious, right?" Melody acted as if she were well-acquainted with Quinn.

She sat directly beside Quinn, right on the edge of the bed opposite Elias, positioned in his line of sight, so much so that even if his gaze didn’t fall on her, in his peripheral vision he couldn’t help but notice her lovely appearance.

"Elias, I received a document from Meridia this morning and have passed it on to Kevin; it’s about the stock information from a few days ago."

With a gentle smile, Melody spoke to Elias, and as if suddenly recalling something, her expression grew somewhat serious: "The contents of the document are rather complex, I believe it’s better for you to look at it personally."

Hearing this, Elias’s brow slightly knit together, and after pondering for a moment, he said to Quinn, "Wait for me a bit, I’ll make a phone call and be right back."

His voice was so light, like a feather floating in the air, slowly descending, light enough to be almost weightless.

Quinn nodded, and after Elias turned to leave, she picked up her phone, browsing it casually.

She wasn’t familiar with Melody and didn’t know what to say.

Besides, with the relationship they had as past and present partners, there was really nothing worth discussing.

"Elias is quite good to you." Melody’s sweet voice echoed in the room, dispersed in the air, calm and devoid of any emotion.

Quinn’s fingers paused slightly while scrolling through her phone’s feed, but she continued to scroll without responding to Melody.

Melody chuckled softly twice, undisturbed by Quinn’s lack of response, she gazed out the window, the smile on her lips becoming more pronounced, as if lost in some beautiful memory.

"I once ended up in the hospital from the rain, back when Elias and I weren’t together. He also stayed by my side tirelessly, taking care of everything personally, not at all like a young master of his standing."

"Oh, I nearly forgot, you probably didn’t know Elias back then."

"That must have been seven or eight years ago, when Elias was still studying abroad, before he officially took over managing the Sinclair Group."

While speaking, Melody’s eyes shone with an enchanting brightness as she looked out the window. Suddenly, she turned her head, her captivating eyes locked onto Quinn.

Quinn put down her phone, emotions flickering in her eyes, but she soon calmed down.

"Actually, I quite envy you."

"The way Elias gets along with you is different; you two are like a pair of happy rivals, bickering occasionally."

As she spoke, Melody poured a cup of hot water for Quinn and set it aside, moving as naturally as if tending to a long-time friend.

"I’ve never quarreled with Elias; I kind of want to experience what it’s like to have a quarrel with him."

"It should be quite interesting; it seems like it gives that young couple feeling, not like us back then, plain as an old married couple."

"Sometimes I even have this illusion, feeling as if Elias and I are predestined to be suited for each other."

Laughing behind her hand, Melody seemed as though she’d heard some amusing joke while speaking her last words.